Vintage
by blacktag189
Summary: "It's an extraordinary story, my love. A story of bravery, and sacrifice, and friendship, and love. Love of a friend, eternal love, love of a family..." **Completed**


Vintage

By Blacktag189

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. All rights reserved.

* * *

"I have foreseen," Alice trailed off and Bella looked up from the closet floor. "That you are about to have your hands full."

"Of shoes? That's not a prediction." Bella looked back down at the boxes and boxes of shoes that Alice had dumped into her closet in the cottage. She had told her they were a gift; Bella thought they were a nuisance.

"Jazz and I were out running, and we came across Jake and Nessie."

Bella grabbed a pair of shoes out of one of the boxes and shrugged her shoulders.

"In your meadow."

Alice watched as Bella's fingers instinctively tightened around the tiny shoes.

"Talking…" Alice trailed off, and hesitantly took a step back from the closet doors. Bella's temper, when provoked, was a close rival to Rose's.

"How could you have foreseen anything about Jake and Renesme, Alice?" Bella's voice was controlled and even, the shoes seemed to moan beneath her slender, ice cold hands.

"Oh, I didn't _see_ anything. I just heard them talking."

"Talking is fine. They are friends, nothing wrong with a little conversation."

The shoes moaned again under Bella's rage. Alice winced for them.

"That's the thing. They were talking about…before."

Bella snapped her golden eyes onto Alice and fixed her with a mask of controlled panic and fury.

"Before what?" The shoes started to flex in her hands.

"Be careful! Those are vintage Manolo!" Alice snatched them out of her hands and shielded them from Bella.

"Before what, Alice?"

"It would appear that Nessie has become interested in boys. Well, one boy in particular. I didn't hear much, but Jake was telling her that she needed to talk to you first, to get a better understanding of why this might be…weird for him."

"Oh Lord." Bella deflated before her. All the anger fell from her face, and was replaced by an even paler expression. "When is everyone supposed to be back?"

"Tonight." Alice stopped, her eyes glassed over in a vacant expression. Just as quickly as it started she snapped back into focus. "Tonight."

"Why now? Couldn't she wait to hit puberty ten more years from now?" Bella fell back onto all the boxes of shoes, her body crushing the cardboard.

"She's actually right on target, according to Carslie. Maybe she'll be out of this tomboy phase and start to like fashion."

Bella let out a laugh from the depths of the closet. "Highly doubt that."

"Just because you can't appreciate vintage couture, doesn't mean your daughter can't. Maybe I should give these to her instead!" Alice gave the shoes a couple of pets, and then examined the damage.

"How am I going to do this?" Bella's voice echoed inside the room of a closet. Alice popped her head around the corner,

"Bella, you've been through worse."

With a hint of a smile she was gone.

* * *

"What happened to your jacket?" Bella's voice echoed through the living room. Everyone turned and then started laughing again.

"He'll tell you it was a mountain lion to save his pride." Emmett started. "But really he fell." He broke off into boisterous laughter.

"How is that even possible, Edward?" Bella moved to him and started running her fingers through the holes in his jacket.

"It's happened from time to time." Rosalie fluttered down to the sofa, Emmett right next to her.

"I was distracted. Emmett pushed me," he glared at his brother, "and I fell over the side of a cliff." Edward pulled Bella up against him and kissed her lightly.

"Good thing you're indestructible." She whispered against his lips.

"Get a room!" Emmett yelled out, and everyone started laughing again. Everyone but Alice. Bella shot her a warning look, and she danced away to fall next to Jasper.

"What was that about?"

"You don't miss anything, do you?" Bella sighed. She put her hands on either side of his face and smiled. Over the past decade they had been able to master working past Bella's mind block, but still only for short spurts of time. She quickly replayed the conversation with Alice, and gave him a quick shot of Renesme in her room, alone.

"Really? So soon?" Edward sighed as Bella dropped her hands.

"Actually she's overdue." Bella crossed her arms over her chest and stared out through the windows into the night. "Tomorrow, then?"

* * *

She was just about to get up and ransack Alice's closet when her bedroom door burst open.

"I saw that you wanted to borrow some clothes," there was a manic gleam in her eyes. "So I'm bringing over what will fit you best."

Alice dumped armfuls of fabric onto her bed but kept a box of shoes in her hands.

"I just want to look a little bit nicer when I go talk to Jake later." She felt what would have been a blush creep up into her cheeks.

"That's not a problem. All you ever have to do is ask, and I'll make you look like the supermodel you are." Alice gently put the box of shoes down and then pulled out the first item from the stack.

"Alice?" Reneseme started. Alice laid the fabric against her and then shook her head. She grabbed the next.

"Don't even try. I can't tell you." Alice brushed off Nessie's anger and kept going through the shirts.

"I hate it when he does this. I'm not a child! He can't keep making these orders like he's ruler of this family!"

"But you don't seem to understand that there are two families here: your mom and your dad and yourself, and then everyone else. Your parents still have a say…" Alice broke off laughing. "Sorry it's just still weird to say parents and think of Edward and Bella!" Her peals of laughter filled the room. She tossed aside another shirt and picked up a red one.

"I just don't understand why it is so important for me to ask them? Why can't I hear it from everyone else? What is so special about this story that I have to hear it directly from them?" Nessie looked down, "I like that color."

"It will look great with these jeans. Casual but sophisticated." Alice dug the dark jeans out of the pile. "Nessie, I'm almost positive that Edward and Bella want to tell you just as much as you want to hear it from them. But Jake asked you to talk to them. And they are the only ones that can tell it best. I might be able to…but still." She threw her hands up in a defensive notion.

"It's not like I don't know most of the story already. I listen when you guys are all sitting around talking. But he always cuts everyone off when it gets to something actually important." Reneseme shook her curls out of her eyes and blew out an exasperated breath.

"You see," Alice jumped up off of Reneseme's bed and started looking for the box of shoes. "You have to think of your father as…" She trailed off looking at the box intently.

"Stuffy?" Renesme offered.

"Vintage." Alice countered. "He's from a different time altogether Nessie. And that time period has its good things and its bad things."

"Mostly bad." She whispered.

"I heard that!" Edward yelled from outside.

"Augh!" Nessie grumbled.

"I know it's hard. You can't keep any secrets around here. Between my abilities, and your father's mind reading."

"And all the super hearing abilities," she interrupted.

"Yes that too. But it's only because we love you. Each and every one of us would do anything for you." Alice twirled back down to Nessie's bed, still holding the box of shoes.

"Then why can't anyone tell me…"

"Because that's not our story to tell." Alice cut her off. "If you really want to know, you have to talk to them. And trust me," Alice grabbed her hands, "You really want to know."

"Alright." She sighed, admitting defeat.

"Now, what do you think about these?" She opened the box and Nessie let out a little breath.

"Oh they are beautiful."

The box crumpled a little as Alice clenched her hands in excitement.

* * *

She knew where she would find them, out in the garage. Since hitting the tomboy phase of her growing Reneseme had watched Rosalie go from her doting fashion consultant to her doting personal mechanic. She would never understand the appeal of cars to an Aunt that rarely let anyone touch her hair, but then again nothing really made any sense in her family.

"We already know what you want." Emmett called out to her as she approached the garage. "We can't tell you."

She rolled her brown eyes and stomped over to the open pit of tools and car parts. Emmett was holding up the front end of his Jeep and Rosalie's legs were sticking out from under it.

"Sorry, Reneseme. Rules are rules, and your father rarely lays them down." Her voice was slightly muffled by the two tons of car hanging over her.

"Not even the tiniest bit of information? Not even a hint of what I might be in for?" She gave her hair a flip and smiled her biggest smile at Emmett. She knew he would cave, he was the only who did when she turned on the charm.

"You're reading classics right now?" Emmett asked, shifting the car in his hands.

"Yes, I'm on Shakespeare." She stuck her hip out; annoyed that she would have to pry the information out of him instead of just receiving it.

"Let me put it to you this way," Emmett lifted the car higher. Rose slipped out from under the car and wiped a smear of grease off of her cheek. She gave Nessie an appraising look.

"Go on." Nessie supplied.

"Romeo and Juliet, that's all you get." Emmett let the Jeep fall to the ground.

"Except one of the characters is already dead," Rosalie added. "And self-loathing."

"Yeah, I get that my dad is Romeo, and my mom is Juliet. But who would Jake be?" Nessie twirled some hair around her finger.

"Don't let Carslie hear that, he'll be very disappointed in your studies." Rose turned back to her tools.

"Very disappointed," Emmett added.

"Like he didn't hear already," Nessie grumbled and stalked off toward the house.

* * *

Nessie ripped through her desk for the copy of Romeo and Juliet that she had stashed away. It was the only clue that she had. She hated being unprepared for anything; apparently she got that from her father. If she was going to have to talk about her parent's 'delicate' past, then she at least needed to follow-up on the clue. Needing to be away from anything that would remind her of the impending doom she grabbed the book and made sure to make a big show of walking through the house.

Jasper was sitting in the living room, innocently reading a copy of some philosophy book when she flopped down onto the oversized white couch. She held the book above her head and turned to the first page. She had read Romeo and Juliet in one sitting, but it was boring. She got the basics of it. Girl meets boy, girl loves boy, boy kills someone, boy is sent away, boy and girl die. It was a tragedy and everyone dies in a tragedy. What she couldn't remember was how Jake could have played any part in a tragedy; he was always so funny and full of life.

"Paris." Jasper quietly said over his book.

"The city?" Nessie looked over at him. He shook his head no, and then it dawned on her. Paris, the idiot. The boy who loved Juliet, who was supposed to marry Juliet, but didn't take into account Romeo. Her Jake was her mother's Paris? How was that even possible? How as that even probable? How did that all play out in the first place? There was a lot more to this conversation then she had initially thought.

"I don't understand." Nessie sat up. Jasper closed his book and gave her a long look,

"I know." She felt a wave of calm spread over her. "Just remember that it was some time ago, and things were…very different back then."

"Like what?" She threw the copy of Romeo and Juliet to the side.

"For one, your father wasn't nearly as happy as he is now."

"How about you tell me something I haven't heard before?" Nessie countered. She liked talking with her Uncle Jasper. He rarely said much, but when he did it always held such great meaning in her world. She initially figured it was all the philosophy books he read, then she found out he was the second oldest person in her family.

"I tried to kill your mother when she was human." He beat back her shock with some more calm. "Like I said things were very different back then."

"On purpose? It couldn't be on purpose, it must have been an accident." She ran her hands down her cheeks in horrified concentration.

"It was an accident. But it changed everything. Enter Paris." He picked up his book and silently left the living room. She knew he might get a scolding from her Mom, but in the future, she decided, Jasper was the family member to turn to when she needed answers.

"Enter Paris." She fell back onto the couch with a sigh.

* * *

She let the several different and increasingly disturbing scenarios' filter through her brain for hours as she lay there on the couch. The sun slowly glided across the floor and finally left the room in darkness. Vampires and shape shifters didn't really need the lights to be on, but her half-human eyes wanted some kind of brightness. She switched on the light and Esme was standing in the doorway.

"Oh, you scared me!" Nessie shrieked. Esme chuckled and pulled her into a cold hug.

"Sorry, dear one. I've been waiting for you to get up from the couch."

"Did you need something? Sorry, I was thinking."

"I know what you were thinking about. I know you are nervous about talking to your parents about this. I want you to know that you can always come to me with questions, or if you have something you don't think you can talk about with them. I know you have a house full of people that you could do this with, but I just wanted you to know that I am here for you as well."

"I know you are," Nessie leaned her head against Esme's chest. She let the weariness fill her and slumped against her grandmother. "I just don't understand how…" She trailed off. She couldn't even begin to piece together how she would talk about this with anyone.

"It's an extraordinary story, my love. A story of bravery, and sacrifice, and friendship, and love. Love of a friend, eternal love, love of a family. It's so layered and complex and deep, sometimes I don't even understand how it all happened." Esme ran her fingers through Nessie's hair as she said this. It calmed her and she kept breathing in her sweet scent. "But before you were even born your father was forever indebted to Jake. And now that you are here, you and Jake are forever tied to each other. Each one of these bonds between the four of you was made because of love. Regardless of what happens tonight, never forget that." She grabbed her face in her hands and locked her amber eyes to her brown. "Never forget that."

"I won't."

Esme kissed her lightly on her forehead and let her go. As she stepped away two shadows in the doorjamb walked into the light.

"Reneseme," her father said in a low voice. With a nod, she followed them out to their house.

* * *

They rarely used their living room. Why would they when they had the one in the 'big house' as she liked to call it. The few times it had been used were for family discussions, that didn't involve the rest of the family. One had been when she had thrown a fit about not being able to trick or treat. Another had been when she'd thrown a fit about not being able to go to school with the other kids. And now they were here discussing a topic that most teenagers would rather die then bring up to their normal parents. She always found it the slightest bit odd that as she grew older her parents were forever locked as teenagers. Her family would always be anything but normal.

She was fidgeting with a piece of string on her shirt when she looked up at them. They were still and silent, forever like stone. Every once in a while they would blink or move, but it was never enough to make them look real. That's why she loved spending time with Jacob. He was so alive.

"Reneseme, your father and I knew this day was coming. We had hoped it would have been a lot later, but now it is here." Her mother tossed her long mahogany hair over her shoulder. "When Jacob imprinted on you we knew that eventually he would…take you from us. That one day you wouldn't be our baby anymore."

She watched her father fidget uncomfortably in his seat. He wasn't making much eye contact with her, which was strange. Not that he needed eye contact to know what she was thinking, but something was making him distant.

"What's wrong?" It spilled from her mouth before she could stop it. Mother and daughter looked over and Edward let out a long breath.

"Nothing. Please continue."

"Do you understand what imprinting is Nessie?"

"Yeah." She defiantly crossed her arms over her chest. Her mother's mouth flattened out into a straight line.

"Then please, tell me." She relaxed back into the couch.

"We're soul mates. Well Jake is mine, but I don't have to be his. That's how it works right?" She watched as her father rolled his eyes and let out a huff. This time her mother shot him a look. With more dramatic flair then she thought was necessary, he huffed,

"Your boyfriend is outside listening to everything we're saying."

"Jake, get in here!" Her voice overlapped with her mother's and they looked at each other for a moment. Jake stepped inside and sat down next to her on the couch. With a swift movement she placed her hand on his neck and flashed the very recent memory of her uncomfortable father to him,

"What were you thinking?" It wasn't until she let go that she realized the double meaning of it. "Just keep your thoughts to yourself, hum a song or something."

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Edward laughed and leaned back onto the couch. Jake just shrugged his shoulders, but a nervous look at Nessie betrayed his confidence.

"Here's the thing that I can't figure out." Reneseme started back up again. "How did Jake become Paris?"

"What?" All three adults looked at her and then each other.

"Mom, you are Juliet, Dad you are Romeo, and Uncle Jasper told me that Jake became Paris. So how did that happen? It's the only thing I can't figure out."

"Jasper." Edward and Bella growled. In the distance they could hear Alice's bell laughter.

"Since your uncle gave you the clue I will tell you the story." Her father let out a long breath. "You see, Renesme, human memories aren't as strong as vampire ones. Even though it wasn't that long ago your mother doesn't remember all the details of the few years she knew me, before she changed. But I do." He stopped and looked at Jake for a moment. "Bella had cut her finger on some wrapping paper on her birthday, it started to bleed. Your Uncle Jasper lunged at her, she fell into a table full of glass plates. There was blood everywhere, he was devastated that he had done it in the first place. It was after that moment that I realized how much of a danger I was to your mother. So I left. I made everyone leave with me." Her father stopped for a brief moment.

"And it almost killed her." Jake's voice broke the silence that had fallen over them. "I may not be a vampire, but I have a long memory as well."

She watched as a flash of agony crossed her father's face. With a moment too fast for her to see her mother had vacated her seat and was now curled up next to her father. She gave Jake a sad smile and nodded her head in agreement.

"I didn't try to kill myself. You must understand that." She was speaking directly to her. "I was just overcome with grief. Everything in my world, everything I ever wanted, everything I ever needed was gone. And then Jake appeared. My sun. He saved me. He saved me in a way that your father couldn't, in a way he never had before. And for that reason alone we will always be in debt to him. But he made so many more sacrifices for me. He hurt himself time and time again. He loved me, he was in love with me, but I was in love with your father. I still love Jake." She smiled at him, her teeth gleaming. "But he was not the love of my life; he was not my soul mate. He was yours."

For a long moment they all sat in silence. It was her father's small hand gesture that stopped it. He gestured to Jake with an almost wicked smile.

"And I kissed Bella." Jake's face flushed. Her father cleared his throat. "A few times." Jake added on, almost a scarlet color. Her father cleared his throat even louder.

"Please tell me it was only just a kiss." Nessie turned on Jake.

"It was! It was!" Jake jumped away from her. "But one of them was a little more…passionate then the others."

"Oh that." Nessie turned her head to the ceiling and started laughing. "I knew about that already." She looked back down at everyone. "That's what this was about?"

"Well," Jake started.

"Yes." Her Mom finished.

"Seth told me a couple years ago. It's no big deal. I mean I guess I should be bothered by it, but it was a life or death situation, right?"

"You've known this whole time?" Edward moved away from her mother.

"Yeah. I thought this was about something…more that might have happened." She started giggling again and punched Jake in the arm. "You are such a worrier. What makes you think kissing my mom would change my mind?" She started laughing again, but soon discovered she was the only one.

"It was a real concern." Her mother said straitening up, stiff as a board, on the couch.

"I have an Uncle that was an officer in the Civil War, a Grandfather who watched the American Revolution, an Aunt that can tell the future, a father that can read minds, and a boyfriend that changes into a huge wolf. I think a little kiss between my still human mother and my boyfriend, before I was born, is the least of my concerns at this point." She watched as everyone started to smile a little, but it was still an uncomfortable one. "Not to mention I drink animal blood for food. I don't think you could tell me anything that would scare me at this point."

"Sweetheart, you're brushing this off like it is some normal teenage problem. That attitude was part of the reason everything fell apart between your mother and myself, and Jake. You do realize you will never get any older. You will always look this age." Her father leaned forward onto his knees to get closer to her.

"And you will always be a vampire, and Jake will always be a wolf. Nothing has ever been normal." She grabbed Jake's hand in her own. "If I can never have normal can't you just be happy for me?" She looked at her mother and her father. With a small nod, from both, she smiled at them.

"Then don't come home too late." Her mom smiled at them both and stood from the couch. "And don't get into trouble."

"You know I wouldn't let her do that." Jake laughed and pulled Reneseme off the couch in one tug.

"I remember some motorcycles that would go under the definition of trouble." Her father stood and grabbed her mother around the waist. "Let's keep that out of the agenda."

"Sure, sure." Jake blushed again, and with a tug he pulled them out of the house.

The door had been shut for only a few seconds when it popped open again to reveal a pile of clothes.

"She sounds more and more like you every day Bella." Alice's muffled voice came from behind the mountain of clothes.

"This isn't for me is it?" Bella's worried tone made Edward and Alice laugh together. With a delicate shove she put them all on Reneseme's bed. Her eyes were bright as she turned around,

"I have foreseen the future."

"Oh no, not again," Bella moaned.

"And it is stylish!" Alice finished and then dove into Reneseme's closet. Edward put his arm around Bella's shoulders.

"At least Alice can turn her attention away from you now."

"For the moment." Bella darkly answered.

They left Alice to do her work.


End file.
